Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen (Hardcover)

by Ira B. Nadel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The flamboyant life of Canadian singer/ songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen (b. 1934) is given straightforward treatment in this authorized biography by Nadel, a book reviewer for the CBC and professor of English at the University of British Columbia. The chief virtues of the book are its thorough research and its honesty. Clearly an admirer of Cohen's work, Nadel is unstinting in his depiction of his subject as one who has "led a life of unfettered romance, largely free of obligations or responsibility." From Cohen's precocious childhood in the Jewish community of Montreal through his years as one of Canada's most promising young poets, to his intermittent career as a sort of lugubrious rock star?"the prince of bummers"?the artist comes across as egotistical, charming, dilettantish and moody, swinging wildly between vainglory and self-pity. He was an improbabale singer: even Cohen compared his voice to a bumblebee?in theory it shouldn't fly, but it does. The melodrama of his life seems manufactured to fit his gifts as both singer and songwriter, but these talents are difficult to evoke in prose, and Nadel isn't likely to convince anyone who isn't yet a fan of Cohen's abilities. The faithful, however, will light scented candles as they follow the well-traced turns of the artist's life. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Canadian poet/singer/songwriter Cohen has had an unconventional career, culminating in pop music stardom at the age of 54. Nadel expands on his earlier Leonard Cohen: A Life in Art (ECW Pr., 1994) and updates Loranne S. Dorman & Clive L. Rawlins's Leonard Cohen: Prophet of the Heart (Omnibus Pr., 1990) in this biography, which was "benignly tolerated" by Cohen, whose somber songs have been described as "music to slit your wrists by." Nadel used interviews with Cohen and his friends and extensive excerpts from his prose, poems, letters, and lyrics to reveal insights into Cohen's enigmatic life and career. Obsessions with beautiful women, bouts of depression, and an ascetic exploration of Zen Buddhism are all recounted. Occasional factual errors (e.g., Nadel implies that Judy Collins composed her Joni Mitchell-penned hit "Both Sides Now") do not prevent the book from being the most authoritative work yet on the "poet laureate of pessimism." Recommended for popular music collections of public libraries.?Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1st edition (October 8, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679442359
• ISBN-13: 978-0679442356
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,011 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Leonard Cohen-style biography of Leonard Cohen, March 10, 2000

By	dillon334 "dillon334" (New York, United States) - See all my reviews

This is a fascinating book. However, it is not a conventional biography, in that the author (Ira Nadel) does not fully succeed in weaving the events of Cohen's life into a flowing narrative. The story proceeds disjointedly, and the reader follows it with a feeling of uneven coverage and missing pieces. Ira Nadel is clearly in personal awe of Leonard Cohen (as any of us would be, I suppose), such that he shies away from offering much analysis (psychoanalysis?) of his work and conduct of his life, beyond what the work and facts of his life suggest readily. For example, Cohen's long, tortured relationship with his wife Suzanne is described by a series of vignettes, as cold as news reports, spiced only with relevant-seeming quotations from Cohen's work. Nadel doesn't do the interpretive work of suggesting was going on in Cohen's mind, and what was causing that, which is what biographers usually do for us (and we judge them on whether they do that well or badly). There are ocassional Freudian interpretations, as when Nadel compares Cohen's relationship with his lovers to that with his mother. But we don't get a feel for how the relationship developed and began to sour. In fact, we barely get any feel of "development" in Cohen's life at all, which makes it seem like disconnected reportage rather than a biographical narrative. This quality could be seen as a plus, as it gives the book a cryptic feel, rather like the work of Leonard Cohen itself. I learned a lot, and enjoyed the distant quality of Nadel's writing for what it was, but I was left wanting to know more. Perhaps Cohen, whose work often veers into playful impenetrability, perfers it that way.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A detailed look at one of our greatest contemporary poets, December 5, 1998

By	[e-mail] (New York) - See all my reviews

While Leonard Cohen's music, writing, and intreaguing life are enough to satisfy any romantic, this book manages to give a clear and accurate depiction of Cohen's motivations, influences, and understanding of life. From his innovative novels to his influencial and engrossing music and poetry, Cohen's life is portrayed as a constant exploration into the soul and the true meaning of love, sacrifice, and isolation. However, it is impossible to convey the passion and emotion that Cohen transmits in albums such as "Death of a Lady's Man" and "Songs of Love and Hate." In only this aspect does "Various Positions: A Life of Leanord Cohen" fall short of possible expectations. But perhaps Cohen's emotion is something that prose writing simply cannot capture. Leonard Cohen's life is certainly something worth reading about.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars no work of art, June 16, 1999

By A Customer

I much prefer autobiographies to other biographies. Biographies tend to be clumsily assembled or stitched or thrown together and filled out with plodding prose. And so this biography. Well, at least you get some kind of overview of Leonard Cohen's life and here and there some fragments of Leonard Cohen's incisive wit. Two samples:

Author: My publisher wants to know if this can be considered an authorized biography.

L.C.: It can be considered a tolerated biography, benignly tolerated.

Leonard Cohen is interviewing his famous actress girlfriend Rebecca De Mornay:

Rebecca: The great advantage to having you interview me is that I won't have to field questions about Leonard Cohen.

L.C.: Yes, let's talk about Leonard Cohen. What's he really like?

Recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.